... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
To the chief Musician on Jonath–elem–rechokim, Michtam, of
David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.[2]
Be merciful to me, O God: for man would
swallow me up. He fighting daily oppresses
me. My enemies would daily swallow [me] up: for [there are] many who fight against me, O most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God I will praise His word, In God I have
put my trust. I will not fear what flesh
can do to me.
Every day they wrest my words. All their thoughts [are] against me for evil. They
gather themselves together. They hide
themselves. They mark my steps, when
they wait for my soul. Shall they escape
by iniquity? In anger cast down the
people, O God.
You count my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle. [Are
they] not in Your book? When I cry,
then my enemies shall turn back. This I
know: for God [is] with me.
In God I will praise [His] word. In the Lord I will praise [His] word. In God I have put my trust. I will not be afraid [of] what man can
do to me. Your vows [are] on me, O God. I will render praises to You: for You have
delivered my soul from death. [Will You] not [deliver] my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the
light of the living?
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1] This
is David’s second attempt at an alliance with Achish, king of Gath (1 Samuel
21; 27). This time David was more or
less successful. However, David was not
completely honest with Achish, because he did not want Achish to think that he
retained secret alliances with Israel (1 Samuel 27). Nor did the other Philistine princes trust
David (1 Samuel 29). In the meantime,
Saul had lapsed completely into demonism (1 Samuel 28). This strife with the Philistine chiefs
provides the means that prevented David from meeting Saul in battle, and being
forced into lifting his hand against the Lord’s
anointed.
David seems to have jumped from the frying pan into the
fire. Previously, he had one adversary;
now, he has several. He is compelled to
be in active war every day, and he survives by clever deception. He is afraid, but he comforts himself in the
resurrection from the dead, “I will not fear what flesh can do
to me.” This phrase is repeated in a few
verses.
Now David complains about the behavior of the
other Philistine chiefs, who slander, suspect, stalk, and in other ways express
their malice toward David. If the Ark
has moved to Ekron, David is without its immediate comfort and protection.
In spite of this, David knows that God knows
his troubles: God counts each problem, collects every tear, and records all of David’s
tribulations in His diary. God’s eye is
on the sparrow, and David is worth many sparrows. David realizes through his incessant flight
and weeping that the day will come when his enemies turn and run from him in
defeat.
David rests his hope in the promises of God;
what God has said will come to pass, “I will not be afraid [of] what man
can do to me.” The vows of God keep
David alive. He remembers that he is anointed
the true and rightful king of Israel. He
is Israel’s Christ, the icon and type of Christ to come. Even though the shadow of death hands over
him, he trusts in the resurrection, “so that I may walk before God in the light
of the living!” Alive or dead he knows
that there is eternal victory, eternal life.
[2] See
Psalm 34.
No comments:
Post a Comment